Getty ImagesA cross-party group of seven MPs who have worked in the NHS has urged their colleagues to back a bill to legalize assisted dying.
Backbench Labor MP Kim Leadbeater has proposed legislation to give terminally ill adults in England and Wales the right to choose to end their lives.
The medical group, led by Labor MP and GP Dr Simon Over, said in a letter that they “do not believe the current law is in the best interests of patients”.
However, other MPs, including Health Minister Wes Streeting, expressed concerns that people might feel pressured to take their own lives and said they would vote against the bill.
MPs will have a free vote on the issue, meaning they can choose according to their conscience and not have to follow party lines.
The issue has divided parliament, with MPs from the same party divided over moral and practical issues, and the vote is expected to be close.
In their letter, First reported by the British GuardianThe group of medical parliamentarians said: “Many of us have extensive experience in palliative care and end-of-life care, and for many years we have been aware of the dire dilemmas faced by patients and clinicians in the final days of life.
“For many years, hospice staff, GPs and community teams have been caught between the law, which prohibits any assistance that hastens the end of life, and our compassionate care of patients, who we know want us to reduce their pain.
The group, which includes Labor and Conservative MPs, said they understood the concerns of others but that parliament must be “courageous enough to change the law in this difficult area for the benefit of patients”.
Labor MPs Sadiq Al-Hassan (pharmacist), Carter Eccles (surgery practitioner), Kevin McKenna (former nurse) and Dr Peter Princely (consultant ENT ) also signed the letter, as well as Conservative MP Dr Luke Evans, former GP and ex-surgeon Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst.
Lawmakers will debate the bill on November 29, when they will also get a preliminary vote.
If passed on the first vote, the bill will face further scrutiny from lawmakers and peers, all of whom must approve the final version before it becomes law.
Full details of the bill have not yet been released, but it is expected to be similar to a Introduced in the House of Lords earlier this yearwhich said terminally ill adults with six months or less to live would be able to get medical help to end their lives.
Leadbeater said both medical and judicial safeguards must be provided to ensure people are not forced to end their lives.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who has previously supported legalizing euthanasia, said his government would remain neutral on the bill.
The issue has divided parliament, with Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy both saying they plan to support the bill.
It emerged last week that the health secretary had privately told colleagues he would vote against the legislation.
He later told the BBC He worries that terminally ill people will feel “a burden” and “feel guilty” and end their lives sooner than they would like.
Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood also said she would not support the proposals because of her “unshakable belief in the sanctity and value of human life.”
On Thursday, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said he “intended” to vote against the bill because he feared elderly and disabled people could face pressure to end their lives.
He believes that improved end-of-life care will alleviate people’s fears of a painful death and make many cases of assisted suicide unnecessary.
Across the UK, people are legally prohibited from seeking medical assistance when dying.
A separate bill to legalize euthanasia Scotland also proposed.
